Effect of different body positions on peak expiratory flow rate in young old elderly

Background: Young old elderly are the individuals in the age of 65-74 years. Changes due to aging leads to increased static air trapping, work of breathing & decreases overall pulmonary function including Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Due to these changes, specific body positioning can cause improvement or deterioration in lung function. There is no evidence of PEFR in different body positions in young old elderly individuals. Objectives: • To evaluate the effects of different body positions on peak expiratory flow rate in Young old elderly, in which the positions are Standing Sitting in chair Semi-Fowler’s position Supine • To find out the position in which the PEFR value is greatest. Methodology: Ethics approval & participant consent was taken. Study design was cross section observational study. 100 subjects were included. Subjects with the age of 65-74 years with no history of any respiratory distress 6 months before the study were included. Individuals with obstructive or restrictive lung diseases, major vision/auditory problem, neurological problems were excluded. Correct instructions were given to the patients according to the guidelines of National Institute of Health. PEFR was then taken in Standing, Sitting, Semi Fowler’s & Supine position & readings were taken. SPSS 16.0 software was used to analyze the data. Data was tested for normality using Shapiro Wilk test. Results were analyzed using Friedman test. Level of significance was set at 5%. Result: 1) Peak expiratory flow rate achieved by young old elderly individuals were significantly affected by body positions ( p<0.0001). 2) Standing generated the highest PEFR amongst all 4 positions followed by Sitting, then Semi Folwer’s while Supine generated the least PEFR. Conclusion: There is a significant effect of different body positions on peak expiratory flow rate in young old elderly. According to the study, Standing is the best position in terms of PEFR following by Sitting, Semi fowler’s and then Supine which has least PEFR value. It can also be concluded that forced expiratory maneuvers can be best performed in standing position in young old elderly individuals. It was also found that the more the upright position, better is the PEFR value.